Workplace Mindfulness

By Wendy Quan, guest contributor

In the corporate world, many of us struggle with the relentless changes that happen at work that often disrupt our lives and increase our stress.

The responsibility of helping people through change, or ‘change management,’ tends to fall upon leaders, change managers, project managers or human resources. However, generally whatever little time there is to perform change management is usually spent delivering communications and maybe the occasional employee surv…

By Gayle Van Gils, guest contributor

There’s a common expression: We know it when we see it. But in actuality, we know it when we feel it. The person in front of you is radiating energy, excitement, and enthusiasm, and at the same time is calm, grounded, and self-possessed. The confident individual is magnetic to us. We want to get to know her, and may be curious about what she does and how she became that way.

Unconditional confidence is distinguishable from feigned confidence or arrogance. …

By Wendy Palmer, guest contributor

Most of the literature around mindfulness in the workplace suggests that the practitioner should take ten, fifteen, or even thirty minutes to practice mindfulness each day. Generally, the suggestion is to sit in a quiet place with eyes closed and follow the breath letting go of any thoughts that may arise by returning attention to the breath. The intention is to shift to a more calmer, and more compassionate and relaxed state of being. It is true that if a per…

By Mary Linda McBride, guest contributor

The pace of our work lives is unrelenting. Cognitive, emotional, and social demands are feverishly delivered by devices – ringing, pinging, and chiming at us all day long.

Markets shift overnight. Expectations and preferences change with the advent of a new technology. A tweet can instantly precipitate a public relations nightmare.

It’s overwhelming.

Mindful leaders work to safeguard themselves and their colleagues from being hijacked by the crisis …

By Dr. Karlyn Borysenko, guest contributor

There's not a leader out there who would tell you their goal is to create less productive employees, and yet data shows us that is precisely what many of them end up doing. About two-thirds of employees in the United States and Canada self-report that they are unengaged at work, 79% of employees do not see professional growth opportunities in their current organization, and 79% of employees who quit their job credit a "lack of appreciation" as their re…

By Wendy Saunders, guest contributor

“Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting-
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.”
–Excerpt of “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver

It can feel rather lonely sometimes when leading mindfulness programs or endeavoring to gather the support needed to start, sustain, or expand these programs in the workplace. This has been my experience at points during the …

Shared Resources and Tools

• How to Read Nature, book by Tristan Gooley

• Mindful Magazine

• Center for Mindfulness, UMass

• Hotline to Peace: 360-385-2200 x2238

• eNaropa: Mindful at Work, 8-week online course (also free 7-day course)

• Mindfulness-Based Emotional Intelligence Facilitator’s Guide

• Becoming a Resonant Leader, book by McKee, Boyatzis, Johnston

• The Mind of the Leader, book by Hougaard and Carter

• Awakening Compassion at Work, book by Worline and D…

Summary Report 

This document captures key questions and insights that arose during a weekend deep dive retreat hosted by Mindful Leader and the Garrison Institute in August 2018. The participants were all internal champions of mindfulness within medium to large organizations (100+ employees). Our objective was to provide a forum where these peers could share best practices and lessons learned, bond, and find meaningful ways to support the continued growth of mindfulness in America.

Being an i…

By Wendy Quan, guest contributor 

Organizations struggle with constant change. Or, rather, it’s the employees who struggle with the relentless changes that disrupts their lives and mounts their stress. The problem is there is never enough change management resource to truly help our employees.

The responsibility of helping people through change, or ‘change management’ tends to fall upon leaders, change managers, project managers or human resources. However, generally whatever little time there…

By Schuyler Brown, guest contributor

One morning in 2015, I opened my Sunday New York Times to find a profile of Mark Bertolini, the CEO of healthcare giant Aetna, on the front page of the Business Section. The story was not a typical business story, but rather a vulnerable and personal portrait: the story of a corporate leader’s personal journey into meditation and his vision to bring the practice into his workplace.

Bertolini hired Andy Lee to do the real work of building a company culture w…